All Good Things
by localsportsteam
Summary: Ariel didn't want to go to Ursula, she just wanted a chance to get her dream. But no matter the price, and no matter the effort, Ariel was going to do everything to get her happily ever after. For all good things go to those who work.
1. Chapter 1

"I've got to see him again, I've just got to!" Ariel rolled onto her stomach and looked at Flounder. "I'll swim up to his castle, Flounder, you can splash around to get his attention and-"

"Absolutely not!" Sebastian interrupted, swimming closer to the teenage girl and perching on her lap. "Ariel I will not hear another word of this nonsense! Down here is your home, not running around with some human prince!"

"Oh Sebastian, you don't understand. To be human! It'd be everything I've ever wanted. And to be with Eric…I've never been so sure of anything."

"Ariel I don't think this is a good idea." Flounder stuttered. "Your dad seemed pretty serious."

"Well, he doesn't understand either." Ariel insisted. "He's never seen the human world as anything other than a bunch of murders. Now I'm going. Are you coming?"

"I suppose…" Flounder said nervously, faithfully joining Ariel at her side.

"Jeez, man!" Sebastian paddled after them. _Someone_ had to look over her.

"The beach is right up here, I remember perfectly." Ariel pointed up and forward slightly, swimming faster. Flounder struggled to keep up.

_Not so fast, darling._

Ariel stopped abruptly and sent her vibrant red hair billowing out in front of her. "Who are you? What do you want?" she demanded, unfazed.

_Who we are in unimportant, it's who we represent. And she's going to help you._

"Who do you represent?"

_A woman of great power. A woman greatly misunderstood. Just like your father fears the humans, for he doesn't know them, he refuses to see past the…troubling past of our mistress._

"Listen! If you're not going to tell me who you are, then I'm going to-"

_Patience, patience. All good things to those…who wait. We represent Ursula._

Ariel gasped. "The Sea Witch?"

_Greatly misunderstood, the title represents her past. She is dedicated her life to more…charitable pursuits._

"Nevermind, nevermind! Why would I need to see her anyway?"

_We've been watching you closely, reckless mermaid. You wish to marry this prince fellow of yours, do you not?_

"Well yes, but-"

_Well the only way to be with your prince is to be a human yourself! _The eels slithered around her tail, shaking their heads. _This…this will never do. _

"Eric will love me either way." Ariel said firmly, clenching her fists.

_Perhaps…perhaps. Take a gamble if you please. But even if he loves you for…this, how will you two be together? You cannot rule from a bathtub, darling, and you'd be laughed out of every ball. Just because Eric might be accepting does not mean the rest of the kingdom will be._

Ariel gulped a little. They had a point. "But I'm not going to see Ursula! I couldn't!" Ariel had heard the horrible stories of the men and women she played, belittled, and tricked.

It was a systematic and effective process. Hysterical merpeople, their hearts on their sleeves and their hopes pouring out into her lap, revealed everything Ursula needed to know in order to destroy them. She did it for sport, truly. She gained nothing but hatred and societal rejection. She did not hold their souls as collateral; she merely kept and admired them. She gave these merpeople a simple taste of what they wanted, what they thought they could not achieve without her, and then she cruelly snatched it, and snatched them away. The wilted in her garden of souls, longing, waiting for an absolution that would never come.

"I can't." Ariel re-affirmed.

_Then you will never get what you truly want. The eels insisted. You cannot give yourself legs, dear. You need a little help with this. Being headstrong will get you nowhere in this arrangement. You can either come with us, or you can go home. _

The eels turned and left, swimming slowly away, beckoning for Ariel to follow.

"Maybe…" Ariel began, leaning towards them.

"Ariel no!" Flounder shouted.

"We won't let you!" Sebastian swam in front of her, and Flounder quickly joined. "She's a demon! She's a monster! We won't let you do something so reckless!"

"But it might be the only way!" Ariel said, pushing forward a little. "They're right, I can't just split my tail in two and rip off my gills! But if Ursula can change me…they will be a price, of course, but there's nothing I wouldn't give just for a _chance_-"

"Now Ariel, Ariel!" Sebastian said soothingly. "Let's just go back to your Grotto. I won't tell the King about what's just transpired, but in exchange, you need to get these silly thoughts out of your head!"

"They're not silly thoughts!" Ariel insisted, flicking Sebastian on the shell.

"Ariel, we can think of something else! I just know that we can!" Flounder said confidently, pushing Ariel forward, toward her grotto. "We'll brainstorm, you see, and we'll find some way to get you to meet your prince."

"I suppose…" Ariel sighed, dipping her head forward.

Sebastian relaxed. He had done his job, Ariel was safe. "I've got a concerto to work on, now you two go swim around for a bit. Relax." He smiled and swam past Flounder mumbling "Protect her like a lionfish!"


	2. Chapter 2

Ariel lay on the floor of her grotto, mindlessly picking through her treasures. "Oh Flounder, there's just gotta be a way to make this work!"

"I don't know, Ariel! I can't think of anything." Flounder nervously swam around the grotto.

Ariel flipped onto her back. "I knew I should've gone with them." She pulled her tail in and sat up. "Maybe it's not too late. I know where Ursula's lair is, everyone does! No one goes but-"

"Ariel are you sure?-"

"Sh!" Ariel cried out suddenly, holding out a finger. "What do you suppose that it?" she said excitedly, looking out of the top of her grotto. Maybe Prince Eric was back sailing again!

Smiling widely, she swam out of the top of her grotto and followed the boat, Flounder coming shortly behind her. She pushed her floppy red bangs out of her eyes and sighed longingly. "Oh Flounder, I'd give anything to be on that boat." She moaned, falling back into the sea and sinking. "I've gotta do it." She said firmly, turning around and swimming back down towards the ocean floor. "I'm going to see Ursula" she said firmly.

"Ariel-"

"Flounder you don't have to come with me but I know this is the right thing to do." Ariel said firmly, spinning around. "But either way, don't tell Sebastian!"

"I-I won't." Flounder promised.

"Come one." Ariel said firmly, swimming back towards civilization.

"Ariel, there you are!" Alana swam up to Ariel, huffing from swimming to fast.

"Alana how did you find me?" Ariel said, concerned. She never wanted anyone to see her grotto if she could avoid it.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" Alana snapped, annoyed. "You have to come home."

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry. Everyone's fine. But something important has happened." Alana said, clasping her hands together excitedly.

"What?"

"I'm not sharing. You have to come back to the castle!"

Ariel sighed but her natural curiosity got the best of her. She would go to Ursula after, but if there really was something magnificent at the palace, she wanted to see it.

"All right." She conceded, following Alana home.

Once they arrived at the palace, Alana sat Ariel down in the reception room. "Stay here, please. Just a minute." She said, holding up her hands.

"What for?" Ariel said, excitedly. "What am I getting?"

Ariel's sisters swam in, giggling excitedly.

"Oh Ariel!" Andrina exclaimed.

"You're going to be so excited!" Attina affirmed.

"It's so romantic…" Artista sighed, sitting down and resting her face on her hands.

"What's going on?" Ariel said, starting to stand up.

"No! No!" her sisters forced her back down and fixed her hair, making sure it sat perfectly.

"Tell me what's going on." Ariel said firmly, forcing her way back up.

"Someone is here to seeeee youuuuuu" Andrina said in a sing-song voice.

"Who?" Ariel demanded.

"Uh…hello." A blonde man swam through the door, smiling softly at Ariel. "Long time no see, huh?"

Ariel furrowed her brow. "Urchin? What in Poseidon's name are you doing here?"

"I haven't seen you in a long time, Ariel." Urchin swam up to her and tucked his arms behind his back.

"Yeah, you went off to explore the Arctic. Goodness it's been…years."

"Three years, two months." Urchin nodded, agreeing.

"Why'd you come back? See everything you wanted to?" Ariel asked, cocking her head and crossing her arms.

"Well that's precisely the problem, Ariel. I haven't seen everything I've wanted to."

…

Truly, she was a stunning girl. Her hair was a glossy brown and swept back off her heart-shaped face. She had bright blue eyes and a strong disposition, smiling softly at the world around her and gathering her arms around herself as if her bones were all she needed to support herself against any attack.

"This was the right choice." She nodded, gazing at the beaches around the dock. "This is the place to be." She sighed and rolled her shoulders back, sauntering forward.

Her name was Abigail Hodgson, cousin to the Princess of Glaurhaven. She had only met Eric once, but felt instantly attached and attracted to him. He was sweet and shy, a good man, and a good king. But royal events allow for very little inter-mingling, and the arrangement was for Eric and the Princess, so Abigail did not get to speak to him for more than a grand total of two hours throughout the night.

However, she felt she needed to pursue the relationship at the risk of her own dignity, and thus wrote Eric's closest assistant, a man named Grimsby, requesting for the two to meet again. Eric agreed, of course, he had not refused a lady yet, and Abigail set sail two days after receiving the response.

It was a short voyage, and an easy one, and Abigail hoped for it to be reflective of the courtship. She put on a nice dress, a beautiful dark green, it offset her skin tone and was well fitted to her body. She would settle in for an hour, maybe two, in order to properly relax and present herself in the most cheerful light, and then she would join Eric for a meal.

It was beautifully planned, and had all been done before, so why couldn't it be done again?


	3. Chapter 3

**Review, please (:**

"Oh Urchin, I hope you're not saying what I think you are…" Ariel shook her head 'no' vigorously, swimming back a little.

"Ariel, I don't want to force you…" Urchin began.

Ariel exhaled happily, relieved.

"-But I want you to know that I will never stop pursuing you, and I want you to know how much you mean to me. I've had a lot of time to think and –"

"No!" Ariel exclaimed, throwing her hands down. "This isn't romantic, Urchin, this is obsessive. We haven't spoken in years!"

"But we spoke for years before that, when we were younger. I know you Ariel, I haven't been watching you from behind bushes and rooting through your trash for keepsakes. Don't villianize me. I've had a lot of time to think while I was up in the Arctic, and eventually, more and more, I found myself thinking of you. We were such great friends, it was so natural. Is there a problem? Is there someone else?"

Ariel looked at her sisters around her and knew she couldn't mention Eric. They'd tell Daddy and then Ariel would never be able to leave the house, much less get a chance to see Eric.

"It doesn't matter if there's someone else, I can speak for my own opinions regardless!" Ariel snapped.

"I didn't mean to imply-"

"Regardless, you're doing a pretty good job of doing just that!"

"Ariel, I'm sorry if I've upset you, to be perfectly honest, I didn't expect this kind of reaction-"

"Urchin," Ariel sighed, trying to regain control over herself. "It doesn't matter what you expected, the point is that I don't want to marry you!"

"Yet." Urchin said proudly. "It has been a while, I'll give you that. Just spend some time with me, please. We can go on adventures like we used to, see the same sights…that I've missed so much. This has been sprung on you, and I didn't have to go through that."

"Ariel, calm down!" Attina said, looking over at her baby sister. "You're being way too harsh!"

Ariel shook her head and choked back tears, turning around and swimming out of the palace.

…

Abigail unpacked her trunks with the help of a few servants. She was gracious and charming, and when they asked her for stories of her travels here, she was more than happy to oblige.

"Ma'am" one of the servants piped in softly. "If you don't find it too bold, may I ask how you are acquainted with the young Prince Eric?"

A few passing members of the staff hovered by the doorframe, one girl pretending to dust, but all were eager to learn if Eric was finally, finally, finally to be settled down with a girl – especially a girl as sophisticated as this one!

"We met when he was visiting my cousin, Margaret, the Princess of Glaurhaven."

"So you're not a princess?" one of the younger maids said nervously.

"No, but I can still marry a prince if that's what you're concerned about." Abigail winked at her and continued her explanation. "We didn't talk much, but he seems like a wonderful man, and I'm interested in getting to know him, and would prefer to do so in person as opposed to through letters."

"Well you have a lovely way of speech, ma'am, I'm sure you'll have him enchanted in no time – if you don't already!" the maid who was pretending to dust sighed, clasping her hands together. "Oh, I just love romances…"

"I certainly hope you're right!" Abigail laughed. "If you don't mind, I'm very grateful for your help and company, but I'd like to take a rest until dinner."

"Oh of course ma'am!"

"It was wonderful meeting you!"

"Simply lovely!"

"Enchanting!"

"Bitsy, you use the word 'enchanting' too much. It's lost all of its meaning."

"Well, not to her! We just met her!"

"Oh, come _on_!"

…

"Ariel, where are you going?" A panting Flounder swam behind her, and Ariel slowed to match his pace.

"No one else is coming, right? No one else is following me?" Ariel confirmed, still looking forward.

"No, no, they're all comforting Urchin."

Ariel sighed, annoyed. "Well, good enough, I suppose."

"Ariel, where are you going?"

"To see Ursula."

"Ariel, no! I thought you had decided against that."

"Flounder, the circumstances are different now. If I stay here I'll be pursued by Urchin until the end of time, and I can't live like that."

"Ariel, no! There's a reason no one goes to her – she's wicked, vicious! She'll take something of yours, something important!"

"Flounder, at this point, there's nothing I wouldn't give up."


	4. Chapter 4

**Review, please (: and it is an Ariel x Eric, don't worry ;)**

Ariel sat, uncomfortable. Ursula swam around her, her tentacles swirling powerfully, laughing darkly at the little mermaid's plight, attempting to sound sympathetic.

"Of course, of course my dear! You can't marry that smelly old Urchin!" Ursula chuckled, eventually settling down at her vanity and re-applying lipstick. "Especially with such a … better catch up there on land."

Ariel cringed, for though she shared the same opinions, Ursula presented it in such an unsettling way.

"And, of course, as a reformed young former-witch, it is my duty, nay, my honor to help you!" Ursula spun around and grabbed a big of kelp, pulling it over her ears like a headscarf and attempting to look humble.

Ariel leaned forward, excited. "So you will help me?"

"Darling, darling! It's what I do! It's what I live for."

"I don't know how I can pay you, though." Ariel said truthfully. "I don't have any money of my own, and if I go back to the palace then someone is bound to spot me, I've got six sisters – six! – and they all constantly watch over me and I don't know if I possibly could-"

"Dove, lovely darling, it is not a problem!" sick of hearing the mermaid speak, Ursula cut her off and clapped her fingers together. "I don't need to be paid, the warm feeling I get inside when I think of how I have helped you and this, this prince fellow, will be more than enough for me."

Ariel smiled a little to herself. Ursula really had changed! "Why – thank you!"

"Of course," Ursula said solemnly. "There are a few little snags in the spell – things completely out of my control – but, alas, they are still there and must be dealt with."

"Like – like what?" Ariel said nervously.

"Listen up, angelfish, because here's the deal." Ursula rose and swam over to the basin, crossing her arms and becoming more business-like. "You will give me a chunk of your hair, which I will add to several of my rarer, more magical ingredients. This will create a potion that will turn you into a human for three days – got it? – three days. Now, you cannot tell anyone about your life as a former mermaid or else the spell will be broken!" Ursula lied. Clearing her throat, she continued. "If you are spotted by another merperson, the spell will be broken and you will return to the ocean and," Ursula gestured to the moaning souls. "join my little garden." She smirked at the mermaid's waning confidence, knowing that she'd be seeing that face again very, very soon…

Ariel gasped, shrinking back from them.

"A tragedy, yes, but, alas, unavoidable." Ursula sighed. "But, of course, there is an upside." She assured the hesitant girl. "If you get your prince to kiss you, and not just any kiss, the kiss of true love, then you shall stay human – permanently!"

Ariel sat up, pondering the agreement. "But, if I turn into a human, and, stay a human, then I'll never be able to see my family again."

"Yes, but you will also never be faced with marriage to the Great Urchin." Ursula pointed out. "Now," she rose, looking down at the girl and holding out a knife for her to cut her hair. "Do we have a deal? Choose quickly my darling, I'm a very busy woman!"

"Ariel, I don't think you should do this-" Flounder began, but was silenced by the eels.

"There is no time to hesitate, mermaid! Are you going to chase your dreams or not?" Ursula said louder, more forcefully.

Ariel looked around, and at the knife in her hands. Firming her resolve, she grasped it and cut off a chunk of her hair, letting it fall into the basin.

…

Ariel broke the surface and gasped, trying to kick both her legs in unison, like the tail she was so used to, but ultimately failed. Flounder rested under her arm and nudged her forward, using all of his strength to help Ariel get to the beach.

"T-thank you." Ariel panted, lying out on the beach and trying to get her breath back.

"Ariel, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Flounder asked, worried.

"Flounder, I know this is the right thing to do." Ariel said confidently. "Promise me you won't tell anyone!"

"I promise."

"I can't be seen…I have to – have to- get off the-the- beach!" Ariel scrambled to her feet and promptly fell back down. "Go, you have to go!" she called back to Flounder. "I can't be seen." She said, struggling up to her feet, but managing to stay standing, however precariously so.

Ariel stood and hunted for something to cover herself with, something to make her look like a real human; a dress, something! She found a clothesline and heard some maids gossiping.

"She just arrived – sailed all the way across the ocean for that boy!"

"She is beautiful enough, but only a natural-born princess is acceptable!"

"I'm sure Grimsby won't uphold that antiquated old rule, he's just as eager for Eric to be settled down as anyone else!"

"Well they'll be having dinner in an hour – hopefully they'll hit it off!"

Ariel furrowed her brow. Who was this girl? But, still ever optimistic, she grabbed a shift dress and pulled it over her head, beginning her walk to the castle. Suddenly, she heard a deep bark and a furry thing came running towards her, sand flying from under its paws. Gasping, Ariel ran away and climbed up on the first rock she saw, gathering her legs and trying to hide. But the dog jumped up and licked her cheek and Ariel laughed – it was friendly!

"Max? Max!" a man exclaimed. It was Eric! "There you – oh. _Oh_."

"Hello!" Ariel said brightly, climbing down from the rock and falling. "S-sorry. They're new."

Eric laughed. "You're funny, what's your name?"

"Ariel!"

"I'm Eric." He smiled. "Are you okay?" he looked at her more closely, but there didn't seem to be any injuries.

"Yes – well, no. I just, uh, washed up here and I don't really know what to do." Ariel said vaguely.

"Well, I can help you on that front! I've got plenty of room in the castle, you're welcome to stay for as long as you need to…or as long as you want."

"Thank you!" Ariel exclaimed.

"In fact, why don't you join us for dinner?"


End file.
